I was totally lazy yesterday afternoon while The Bug was napping. And all evening, after he went to sleep. I should have been folding laundry. Or cleaning up the kitchen. But instead I started writing a blog post, perusing Facebook, and catching up on My Fair Wedding and Sweet Genius on my DVR. And why was I feel totally OK with this? Well, The Bug was napping. My tummy was full from gobbling up some leftovers of Friday night’s dinner (after I had already had lunch. And a cake pop.) while I was photographing it for this blog entry. And The Hubby was away until Sunday afternoon, so I knew I had all night and a good portion of Sunday to do the piddly tasks. Other than the sound of The Bug snoring over the monitor, the house was very quiet. Almost unnerving how quiet it was. Today, for some reason, the quiet is nice and appealing. Maybe because now the chores are done, and it is a damp, dreary day, perfect for staying inside.

So anyway, dinner Friday night. So good! As I mentioned, I was picked at more of it straight out of the fridge. And, since The Hubby wasn’t home, I just finished it off for dinner. The Bug happily devoured a broccoli and cheese omelet (with ketchup naturally). I’m wasn’t sharing my leftovers.

I love Jessica’s How Sweet It Is blog. Her photos are amazing (something I aspire to), and she cracks me up regularly. You would think by the name that her blog would be all about desserts. Well, she does have some A-MAZ-ING desserts. But oftentimes, it is her savory recipes that catch my attention. Like this Springtime Jasmine Rice Salad. Mushrooms, asparagus… mmmmm!!!! My favorites.

I scoured my grocery store and could not find the jasmine brown rice. I guess I could have bought regular jasmine rice, but I bought a bag of millet on a whim awhile ago. Millet is a grain that looks similar to couscous or maybe even kinda like barley, but it is gluten-free. I have been trying to figure out a way to make it that wouldn’t freak out The Hubby. Put a new dessert or a new meat dish in front of him, and he is all over it. A new vegetable or grain – well, that is usually perceived as me trying to force “crunchy” health foods on him. But this was good. Real good.

I used some dried cranberries instead of the dried cherries, and tweaked the amounts of other ingredients, since I was making a larger portion. And I used vegetable broth instead of chicken. I’m sure either way would be great, but with the veggie broth, this is a nice vegan meal. And if you aren’t vegan, try it with some shrimp, like we did on Friday night, or sprinkled with a little goat cheese, as I did on Saturday night. Or eat it straight out of the fridge, cold.

The Hubby liked it, despite his lack of love for asparagus and mushrooms, and The Bug ate his portion. Though honestly, he was more interested in devouring seven or eight shrimp – go figure, normally he won’t touch shrimp. Ugh, the eating habits of toddlers!

I definitely want to try it with the brown jasmine rice, just as Jessica made it. But I think that’ll require a drive to Whole Foods, which, sadly, is not too convenient. And I still have that bag of millet, or I am thinking it would be good with quinoa, to, to amp up the protein. Mom, can’t wait for you to try it – this is what I am making on Good Friday!

And since it is so quiet, I need some conversation, even if it is “virtual”. So tell me what you think of this recipe, answer the questions below, or just say Hi. I’d love to hear from everyone who is reading, so we can get to know each other!

Are you lazy or productive when your significant other is away? What are you favorite spring vegetables or fruits?

When I was working, I had to travel to Europe several times, and once for two weeks to China and India. And seriously, the best thing about many foreign hotels is their insane breakfast buffets. These spreads catered to the breakfast preferences of many different countries and cultures, from eggs and bacon and potatoes, to waffles and pancakes and french toast, to knockwursts and bratwursts and whatvever-wursts, to congee and sushi and dumplings. Now granted, I was traveling for business, so I did stay at pretty decent hotels. But even the smaller ones all seem to know how to do breakfast right. And one thing that always seem to have it a bowl of plain, thick yogurt, another of fresh fruit preserves, and yet another filled with granola. More often than not, even with all of the other choices, I went for that – a little dairy, a little protein, a little fruit – just what I needed to power through the insane schedule that I usually had while traveling (one time involving 7 airplane flights in 10 days).

Back at home, the store-bought granola always left something to be desired for me. Many seem to have a lot more sugar and fat than I am really looking for, not enough nuts and fruit, and way too much “filler”. Plus, with finding out about my wheat allergy, I have to steer clear from granola that contains things like wheat and barley flakes, or even wheat germ. So that is why I came up with this recipe. It has a pretty high ratio of nuts and seeds to oats, a good amount of dried fruit, and just the right amount of sweetness, but without adding any refined sugars. The only grain is oatmeal, and while I don’t need to seek out the gluten-free oats, this can be gluten-free if you purchase the gluten-free oats. And it has a lot of different kinds of nuts. I love nuts, and each one seems to have at least on particular standout nutritional stat, like walnuts for Omega-3’s, cashews for minerals and B-vitamins, and almonds for Vitamin E. Here is a great source for lots of nutritional information about many different nuts and seeds.

I love to eat this granola over plain yogurt with some chopped berries (or you can get all fancy and make parfaits), and The Bug likes it in any of the many yogurt combos I make for him (like this one). But it is also good simply with some warm or cold milk (my new favorite is Almond Breeze’s Coconut Almond Milk, maybe with a little chopped banana. I’ve also been known to eat it by the handful.

It also makes a nice gift.

And the great thing about granola recipes is that they really are a guideline. Feel free to switch it up based on the nuts and seeds and fruits you love or have around.

What is your favorite breakfast food? Is there something you beeline for when you are at a buffet?

I have lots of dreams. StrangeWeirdCrazyStupidLame Awesome as it sounds, many of those dreams have to do with food. Things like open a bed & breakfast, become a sommelier, own a cafe/wine bar/bakery, be a waitress at a really fancy restaurant, meet Giada or Tyler or Michael or Tom or Mario (DiLaurentiis, Florence, Symon, Collicchio, and Batali for those of you who aren’t on a first name basis with them, as I am), write a cookbook…

One of those dreams is to win a recipe contest. Now I have always been an overachiever, so I have my sights set on the $1 Million Pillsbury Bake-Off. But I figure I should probably start a little smaller. So when I saw Biz at My Bizzy Kitchen post her entry for the No More ‘Mallows! recipe contest, sponsored by the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission, I knew I had to enter. I had just made a sweet potato recipe a couple of weeks ago that I thought would be perfect for this contest.

The black bean filling for my spin on baked stuffed potatoes is based on this Black Bean & Mango Taco recipe from my friend, Michelle, at Find Your Balance. She is a health coach, and has some awesome, healthy recipes. Anything that gets my husband to eat and love a dinner that does not include meat must be good. And The Bug loves Mexican. So her recipe has become one of our family favorites. But I have switched it up some, and instead of tacos, I thought it would be awesome stuffed into some sweet potatoes. And, just to make Michelle happy, I added in some dark, leafy greens and Greek yogurt (though the leafy greens could be optional, if you are not a fan, and you could use sour cream, if you prefer).

So give this a try for your Meatless Monday, Lent Friday, or any day, really. It’s that good. No need to reserve it for your vegetarian days (unless all of your days are vegetarian days). It has a lot of ingredients, but most are probably already in your pantry. Oooh, and it would probably also be good with some of this.

Have you ever entered a recipe contest? What are some of the random, seemingly silly goals you have?

2. Squeeze half of a lime into a bowl and add the salt. Toss the sweet potatoes in the lime-salt mixture.

3. Wrap each potato individually in aluminum foil, and bake for 45 minutes-1 hour, or until soft (alternatively, you could cook them in the microwave for about 10-15 minutes, but NOT with the aluminum foil)

4. While the sweet potatoes are baking, prepare the fillings. Start by spraying a large pan with olive oil or cooking spray, and putting over medium heat.

5. Add the Swiss chard, salt and pepper, and cover with a lid. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until wilted, stirring every couple of minutes.

6. Remove the lid and add the milk and cheese. Cook until thickened slightly and cream. Set aside.

7. In the same pan or in a clean pan, heat the olive and add the onions, salt, and pepper. Cook until starting to turn translucent.

8. Add the red pepper and cook until the onions and peppers are soft.

9. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the black beans, juice of a lime, chili powder, cumin, and water, and simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until heated through. You can keep covered over a low heat until the sweet potatoes are ready.

10. Stir the pineapple and cilantro into the black bean mixture.

11. Combine the Greek yogurt or sour cream and lime juice, and chop the avocado and cilantro, if using.

12. Slice open the baked sweet potatoes, and fill with the swiss chard and black bean mixture. Top with the desired garnishes.

So I was perusing the foodie blogoshpere, and stumbled upon The Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker. I thought the name of her blog was hysterical, and then I saw her Improv challenge. This sounded like too much fun. Basically a theme is given, which is two assigned ingredients, then it is up to the bloggers to let the creative juices flow, and see what they can come up with. Then on the third Thursday of the month, we will all publish our new recipes based on the theme. I decided I had to get in on the action.

So I will say, this recipe is really improv. I had a sweet potato and some white potatoes laying around, and I was really in the mood for goat cheese. So after digging around for some sort of scalloped, au gratin potato recipe idea for inspiration, I found Gratin Dauphinois (Scalloped Potatoes with Cheese) from Cooking Light. I did a little tweaking, and this is what I threw together.

It was yummy – a little sweet, a little salty, creamy, tangy. We all ate the leftovers with dinner the next night, and I had the last little bit the following day for lunch. The Bug was a fan, too.

Since I really did pull this together off the cuff (I didn’t have much time, since I only recently found out about the challenge), it could still use a tweak or two. I think next time I would not put the goat cheese in the milk, and would instead just crumble it on top of each potato layer, in order to get pockets of the tangy goat cheese. If I try this and update it (and get some better photos – I had two hungry boys and a steak getting cold, so was in a rush), I will let you know. But it was really good as-is, especially with a steak perfectly grilled by The Hubby.

If you like what you see here, I’d love for you to subscribe to updates by email, “Like” me on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter. Also, make sure you check out the links below to see what the other Improvers came up with.

2. In a pan, combine 2 oz. of the goat cheese, the milk and the thyme, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat.

3. While the milk is heating, layer one-third of the potato slices in the pie plate, drizzle with 1/2 T olive oil, 1/4 t. salt, and black pepper. Repeat with two more layers of potatoes (I uses half of the white potatoes for my first layer, then the sweet potatoes, and finally another layer of white potatoes).

4. Pour the milk mixture over the top of the potatoes, and lay the thyme sprigs on top.

5. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes.

6. Uncover, crumble the remaining 2 oz. of goat cheese and sprinkle on the top.

7. Bake uncovered for another 20-25 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and the cheese starts to brown.

I am definitely a newbie when it comes to writing a blog. Really, I am even a newbie when it comes to recording my recipes. Yes, I am a scientist, and in the lab I was always very exact with my measurements. I think that is why I love baking – formulas, measurements, acids, bases, heat, reactions, solids, liquids, and gases. It truly is a science. Cooking is definitely more of an art. I am not an artist, but when I cook, it is more of a little of this, a little of that, unless I am following someone else’s recipe. So I decided to start making cooking like a science experiment, and my spiral notebook of recipes is my new laboratory notebook. Just now it say salt and baking soda, instead of sodium chloride and sodium bicarbonate.

But I am also a newbie with really, seriously reading blogs. I had a couple I checked out pretty frequently in the past. Mainly Weelicious and Fix Me a Snack, trying to come up with healthy meals and snacks (and even healthier spins on treats) for The Bug. For awhile, I was determined that no cracker from a box shall cross his lips. And, while I have made a fair share of homemade Wheat Thins and Cheez-Its, my delusions did not last long. Especially when we go to the playgroup at my church, and my kid steals Goldfish from all of the other kids. After he has already eaten his entire bowl of Cheerios, raisins, and freeze dried apples.

But I digress. So as I have been reading blogs, chatting on Facebook with other bloggers, I started to notice some chatter about “stealing recipes.” Confessions of a Cookbook Queen even had this gem in her hilarious series “Ryan Gosling, Food Blogger’s Husband” series of pictures. Well, I stumbled upon a recipe at Pink Parsley for Lasagna-Stuffed Portabellos, and immediately began drooling and planning when I would make this amazing-sounding recipe. Lasagna without pasta – I’m in!

Friday… yes, it’s Lent, this is perfect for Friday. And I am going to Mom’s. I love mushrooms. Mom loves mushrooms. Sam loves mushrooms. Larry… uhhh… hates mushrooms. Grrr! But I still wanted lasagna, so I decide to change it up a bit to a version that we would all enjoy.

Well, we all loved it, so I had to post it. Except the whole time I have been thinking about it, I’ve been paranoid that Josie (as if I know her well-enough to be on a first name basis) would think I was stealing her recipe. I don’t want to be rejected by the blogosphere after I just joined it!! So hopefully if she sees this, she knows that this was done in the utmost respect and appreciation of her recipe, which I will. You should, too. But I hope you try and like this one, as well.

None of us were in a pasta mood that night, so we just scooped up the sauce and cheese with some bread. But this would go fabulously with some pasta (regular or gluten-free), or even some spaghetti squash. Or even make just the sauce to go with your noodles. Salting and draining the eggplant (“making the eggplant cry”, like my Grandma always said) really gives it a nice meat-y texture – something good to give to your carnivorous husband (like mine) on Meatless Monday or a Lent Friday.

Are you more of a scientist or an artist? Baker or cook? Leave some comments below. I’d love to “chat” some more with you.

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